Chase

CHAPTER XVII: THE SCENT OF FLOWER TO THOSE WHO LIVE AND TO THOSE WHO DIE

  “You can kill me now, if that’s what you want,” Sofia turned to the witch. She gazed into its eyes. Sofia set a comforting smile. Skull stared at her with puzzlement. She clasped the knife and aim it to her chest. “It was not your fault,” she find herself talking. She had seen a vision. The woman’s past. “You were just a victim. The people condemned your family of witchcraft. I’ve seen everything. The people killed your family, you were lucky you had escape…” Skull widened her eye. What is this girl talking? The witch felt her knees quivered. She began to remember the past that she had buried and bowed to forget. Faces. She had seen those faces. Faces of the people she had loved. Her mother, brother and the man who claimed her heart. Sofia continued, “You were not that wicked, Ellen.”

  Skull flinched. Ellen. That name. That was her name. The Hunter was into her thoughts. The Gift of the Herald. “S-Stop…” she stammered. Her heart beats faster. She does not want to hear everything. She wants to forget.

  “Your life was a happy one. You loved your little brother Henry very much. Your family loves you even… you’re not as beautiful as you are now.” Sofia felt pity towards Skull. She could not imagine that the beautiful woman was once a humped back, blind girl with an appalling look. “You were kind but the people were into your looks never in your heart. You wish… you wish to be beautiful. No man would ever fall for you… but you were wrong…”

  “Stop!” Skull screamed, tears began to fall from her eyes. She covered her ears for her not to perceive what the girl was saying. The book fell to the ground. Sofia noticed how every word affects the woman. Loneliness and hatred, those are the things that she had seen on her soul. “What was his name? Lucas?” Sofia inquired. Skull laid frozen, hearing the name. “He never expect anything from you but your love. He loved you in spite of your looks, Ellen.” Sofia smiled. “He was a handsome man that every woman had been jealous of you… they had accused you of bewitching him. But you never did. The people began to loathe on you. Until… they want you to be dead. Not only you but also your family.”

  Skull clenched the dagger on her hand. “S-Stop…!”

  Sofia sighed. “Lucas… he died protecting you from them.” Skull began to whimper. The past was too painful that she had breakdown. “You had escape but your family had suffered. You saw how they died in pain as the people had hanged them to death and burned their bodies. You saw everything but there’s nothing you can do.” Sofia felt her own tears escaping from her lids. The vision was somber that had taken her heart. “You bowed to destroy them. You practiced the real witchcraft and cursed your town with plague that had killed everyone. Revenge. You had your revenge but evil had taken your soul. Then… you want to achieve power and beauty that had never been yours.” Sofia halted. She saw a man. Was he the king of Hesperia? “The King. Even King Belmonte had been captivated by your beauty.” She suddenly gasped. “You even killed the Queen for power? You became the King’s Concubine and later killed the King himself…”

  Sofia turned to the witch. Dark past. Revenge. Power. Beauty. These things had poisoned the woman. Skull was staring aimlessly at nothingness. The woman was pale. Sofia saw another vision. Asmaria. She was still a young girl. “Are you the one that had locked the Princess on that tower?”

  Skull began to speak. Her voice was calm. “Yes. I did. I knew of your existence, Hunter. I planned everything. I already found the book but I never had the chance to unlock the crypt until you came… and bring it into my hands!” The witch unpredictable thrust up the dagger at Sofia. Fortunately, the young woman had avoided it. Only her braided hair had been cut down at a short length. Chase tried to break through the barrier but the spell cannot be unbind, only tiny cracks had been produced. Sofia gazed on him and shook its head. He frowned. What in the world are you planning, Sofia?

  “Why Ellen?” Sofia inquired and took steps away from the witch she had trying to tame. “What else do you want? You had gained what you ask for.”

  Skull laughed. She begin to turn into an old hag with a humped back. Her left eye were blind. The beauty she possessed faded. A horrible witch indeed. Her skin was sagging and her face where filled with creases. The shiny, pitched-black hair turned into an arid, hoary one. “Not everything, Hunter! This beauty is fading. I still had to drain someone’s essence to have the beauty I yearned… but with the Archmage’s Script… I could have an eternal magnificence that I could ever imagine!” Skull started to draw near her.

  Sofia shook her head. “I pity you. Ellen.”

  “Stop saying that name!”

  “What? Ellen?” She run across the floor. Skull shrieked in frustration. Sofia smirked, hugging the book on her arms. “Even you gained the beauty you had. You will never be happy… You’re alone, Ellen! There’s no man that would ever love you with that evil thing in you!”

  Skull chased after her until Sofia had been corner. “There’s no way to run, Hunter. I just need your blood and the book…!” Sofia gazed behind her back. It was the edge. Few steps and she will be roasted on the burning flame beneath just like the dirt that had fell from the ground where she was standing.

  “You’re a terrible woman, Ellen,” she said, gazing at Skull who was just a pace from her. “Henry would be mad at you.”

  “Stop mentioning that name!” Skull whined and thrust the dagger towards her. Sofia had been stabbed in the shoulder but the witch had slipped her foot and fell into the cleft. The witch had luckily took hold of the pointy rock and saved herself. Sofia knelt down and looked at the old hag.

  “Help me!” Skull tried using her magic to make the molten rock turned into a mass of land where she could stepped into but it wavered. The burning flame had made her shivered with fear. Sofia saw the fear on the old woman’s eyes. She extended her arms and said, “Here. Take my hand!”

  “What are you doing?” Chase yelled at her worriedly. “She was deceiving you!” Darn. What a foolish creature she was! He gritted his teeth and aimed the sword at the barrier. The sword glimmer and rifted the barrier into pieces of broken glass. Skull hurriedly took hold of Sofia’s hand and lifted herself out the cleft. She snatched the book away from the young woman and slit its finger. Sofia whimpered in pain. Three drops of blood fell into the book. The chain broke apart with a spark of puce. The old hag laughed wickedly and shove Sofia into the burning sea of flame. She had no use of the Hunter now. Skull turned to the young man with her foreboding glare. Now, the Etherian Prince was next to slay.

  Sofia fell into the blazing rift, round-eyed. Everything seemed to move slow-paced. Is this the feeling of dying? That witch. Skull had deceived her. Sofia narrowed her lids. She drew an arrow from the quiver on her back and grabbed the bow on her shoulder. She will make sure that her death would be a worthy one. Sofia took a deep breath and hold, releasing the arrow from her gripped. It struck directly into the old hag’s throat. The book fell after Sofia and landed on her chest.

  Chase clenched his fist and slit his palm without a thought. The scar had just healed and there came another one. He slightly quivered in pain. He formed something by his blood and uttered the forbidden spell. Kali, can you hear me? I know you dislike my vanity but will you do this just now. A beast aroused from the seal of flame. Its fiery eyes were glaring at him. He leapt into its back and hovered down the smoldering ocean of flame. Sofia had almost touches her back in the blistering lava when a hand grabbed hers and lifted her up. The dragon puffed fire and soared high. He saw that her skin had been partially burnt. Sofia lifted her face and faintly smile. “I thought I was going to die.” Chase gazed down at her and replied, “You shouldn’t. This was not heaven yet.”

  Chase lifted her into the ground. The dragon growled and landed on their side. Sofia looked back at the old hag. It was now panting hard, almost lifeless. They heard rumbling sound. The place was about to fall down. “Time to go,” Chase intoned, lifting Sofia into the dragon’s back. Sofia turned to Iris and extend her
arms, “Come on.”

  Iris smiled and shook her head. “You should leave. I’ll die here.”

  Sofia knitted her brow. “What are you saying? Come on now.”

  Chase lifted the young woman but Iris protested. He noticed the florid spot on her skin. “I was poisoned by the pin. My life won’t last long. I could feel the venom on my veins,” Iris said. Purplish veins appeared on her neck. She could not move half of her body and began to gasp for air.

  “Dying later is far different than dying now,” Sofia spoke. “Someone had told me that.” She glanced at Chase who just glanced back at her with its striking blue eyes. Chase hopped into the back of the beast with Iris on his arms and immediately seek for an opening. Streak of light shone above them. The dragon flew skyward with its swift wings. They were already in the midair when something glistened behind their trail. Iris saw it. A dagger. It was heading for Sofia! Skull had thrown the blade.

  “Sofia!” Iris blocked the dagger and got stuck in the heart. She had thrown the poisoned pin on the witch before she fell from the beast. The witch got hit on the head and immediately died, turning into flecks of black dirt. A heartwarming smile drawn out of the young woman’s face and let herself fell into the dark pit that awaits her. We are even now, Sofia. Iris saw the streaks of light fading. A mirage of light suddenly flashed. She remember everything. Everything that was lost. That face. She would not forget. She could not be mistaken. The coldness crept into her whole being. Iris smiled. Mother, I have never failed you. Tears fell from her eyes as she embraced the darkness that lie in wait for her.

  “Iris!” Sofia exclaimed and tried to grasp its hand but the young woman was too far of her reach. Massive rocks fell above them. The dragon glided and flipped in the air, avoiding each falling wreckage. “We should go back!” Sofia said, teary eyed. “We can’t leave her!”

  Chase shook his head. “We cannot go back.” His face was desolated and his voice spoke of jarring tone. Sofia cried, looking back at place. She hope that Iris would show up behind those huge rocks. But there was nothing.

  Suddenly, a blinding brightness clothe their surroundings. The dragon flew out of the opening. Sofia adjusted into the light. She saw an obscure island that was now sinking in the midst of the wide water. Tears fell on her face as she watched the landmass vanished into nothingness. She was not crying because of the drifting island but on the person that had gave her life for her. Agatha. Sofia heard a familiar voice.

  “Iris?” She whispered to herself but she could not see anyone. Sofia knitted her brow. She clearly heard a name. Agatha. Who could she be? Does Iris want her to find someone with the name Agatha? Sofia breathe out an air of confusion.

  The beast flew back to the Kingdom of Hesperia. They had witnessed the raging war between the soldiers and the rebels. Many had been killed but many was yet to follow. The beast laid them down at the tower crest of the palace. Chase leapt down the back of the beast, Sofia followed. Skull was dead but the war never ceased. She looked on the far North and was horrified. The golden flower had grown into a towering bush. Its tangled, enormous roots had been buried deep into the earth. The bud glimmered with its luminous hue. It will soon bloom in a matter of minutes. Sofia dredged up her vision and declared, “We should destroy that flower before it killed everyone.” Chase laid in silence. He always had a bad feeling about that thing that hanged above them. “The moment it bloomed, a poisonous gas will spread throughout the kingdom and will kill everyone,” she added.

  “Clear enough,” he said and mounted the dragon with a swift motion. Sofia closed her eyes and sent a herald over the Wizards of the Hidden Valley. She just hope they had perceived her protent. The beast flew towards the gigantic flora and cast a huge ball of flame but it had explode back to them, making them sank into the depths of the forest. Sofia watched from a distance, troubled. It had repelled the flame.

  The flower had a mind of its own. Chase turned to the beast and remounted it. They flew skyward and halted the moment they heard an explosion on the distant region. Only tiny spark of light could be seen. Sofia must have warned them, he thought. They kept on trying but they always end up a failure. “This was useless,” he whispered. How long would it takes before those buds would open and killed every living creature of this world? The dreadful flower might have created using the ancient spell. He suddenly halted and flew back to the fortress. How stupid they were! The Archmage’s Script might contain the counter spell or some sort of destruction spell perhaps. He eventually found Sofia crying. “What happened?” he asked, worriedly.

  The young woman stared at her with her eyes filled with tears. “We’re defeated,” she blurted and shook her head. “The book contains nothing… Not even a worthy spell. It was nothing but blank pages!!” She cried in frustration. After all that they had gone through, they would soon discovered that their struggled was in vain. Iris’ death was of nothing. Chase plunge into the tower and comforted her.

  “Listen,” he murmured. “This is no time for back outs and cravenness.” He patted her hair and gazed into her eyes. “If you would waived this time we should never have started these things at the first place… I cannot fight this alone, Sofia.” Chase wiped away the tears on her cheeks. Sofia calmed herself. “There were people out there. They were counting on you. Don’t let them down.” Sofia held the book tightly. What is she need to do? “Focus,” he said as if reading her mind. “The Archmage’s was not a dumb sorcerer to create a useless script.” Chase leapt back into the dragon’s shimmering scaled frame. “Where’s the promising Sofia that I’ve known?” Chase smiled at her and left.

  A fire alit on her heart. If he believes on her, why she should not believe herself? In the battle foreseen, in no doubt you must win… The rhyme echoed on her mind. She must win. She must. The bud was now opening. Please. Show something. Sofia slit her finger with a pointy rock on her side. Her blood dripped into the book and vanished. The script glowed. Letters begin to appear but she could not read them. They were written in figures she cannot decipher. She saw some birds flying above that had fell lifeless into the ground. The men that were just nearby begin to felt dizzy. It was now spreading. Sofia smelled a sweet fragrance. She trembled and hold her breath. Sofia jumped crazily trying to capture the young man’s attention. “Francis!!” she called out loud but he did not seem to notice her.

  Chase heard a whistle. He turned around and saw Sofia waving its hand at him. He dashed back to the fortress. He saw that she was dizzy and almost slipped her feet. He made a translucent orb that shielded them from the scent of death. Everyone around them began to choke and pant for air. The young woman hurriedly showed him the book. It was an ancient spell and the writings were nearly extinct. He deciphered the text and cast the spell but nothing had happened. Sofia repeated what he had said and the nearly-opened bud shut its petals back. It suddenly flamed and turned to black dust, leaving not a trace of it. The trees began to dance with the breeze again. Sofia watched at the victory before her, wide-eyed. Chase smirked on her side and asked “Is this what they called victory?” Sofia chuckled and beamed with a radiant smile on her lips. They won. Prophecies are vision of the future that could be altered if you just trust and have the faith burning inside your heart. Something that warns… Something that gives you an option: to die now or die later. Two options with far more different aftermath.

  The dragon shifted into a human figure. “As I expected of those eyes, Hunter.” Sofia smiled. “You’ve done it well,” the lady added. Chase arced a brow, glaring at the woman. Scales of red were glimmering on her hands even on the corners of her face. Kali turned to him and scowled, “Is that how you greet me after you had wakened me on my sleep?”

  Chase smiled, an insolent one. Kali. “You’ve grown up. I have not recognized you, indeed.” The dragon was but a fine, helpless young girl when he had met it.

  “This is my real form, Prince.” Kali became thought-provoking with the change of her gaze. “Listen…” the dragon started.
“I am now breaking the covenant we made. You are now free of my curse and so as mine in yours.” The seal on his neck vanished. He made no response and chose to be silent. Would he be glad about it?

  Kali healed Sofia. The Hunter finally asked, “What about you? What will be gone of you?” The dragon smiled. “I have not figure it out yet. It is either I’ll become part of this world and be gone forever or be back on the old business… a homeless dragon spirit that wanders around.” Sofia glanced at the man on her side.

  “I say we’ll have a bargain, will you stay?” Sofia dared. “Can you live on something aside from a living soul?

  Kali gazed at her and replied, “It was possible as long as it was significant to the one I made the covenant with…” Chase kept his silence. Kali had been a part of him. Her absence might bring a different thing to his life. Sofia nodded in agreement.

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